Pop Culture Pop-Up – The Andy Griffith Show

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

Let’s start the week off with that famous whistle? It’s been 40 years since The Andy Griffith Show first aired its whistling earworm and became a huge hit. The story of a widowed sheriff and his young son resonated all across America, and launched the career of Ron Howard (billed as “Ronny!”) and Jim Nabor’s as Gomer Pyle (“Golly!”) Let that old whistle take you back…to friendly times. Andy’s housekeeper, the beloved Aunt Bee, always had the answer to life’s foibles. Do you have a favorite episode?

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Life 101 – Earth Hour

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

At 8:30 pm tonight lights across the world will shut off for a full hour. No, it’s not a conspiracy between electric companies, it’s Earth Hour! A yearly event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour seeks to raise awareness about energy usage and climate change. It’s a simple statement that will really add up if enough people participate. To learn more about Earth Hour, check out this video! Spend tonight by candlelight – the world will be better for it and maybe it’ll put you in the mood for a little sumpin-sumpin.

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History of Fun – Tongue Twisters

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

Limber up that tongue! Tongue-twisters are some of the oldest, easiest, and most fun word games out there, and they produce some pretty hilarious results. According to the Guinness World Records, the most difficult tongue-twister in the world goes, “The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick.” Whew! The best thing about tongue-twisters is that the hardest in the world never stays the hardest for long – it’s easy for anyone to think up a new, tongue-tying doozy. Here’s a personal fav my PaPa used to try (after a couple Pabst): ‘I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.” Do you have a favorite tongue-twister?

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Dinner Party Talk – On a Roll

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

These days everyone is looking to stretch every penny as far as they can, and toilet paper can be a surprisingly expensive investment. Here’s the funny thing: when stacked up in terms of cost-per-sheet, it turns out that multi-ply paper is not always the more expensive choice. When I bought a country house, I learned what is important to keep in mind is sometimes more your house’s needs than yours. For cranky septic systems: Scott tissue is the gentlest on delicate septics. But for cranky tushees: I’d recommend Charmin. Did you know that in 1978, Charmin’s spokesperson Mr. Whipple was the third best-known American after Richard Nixon and Billy Graham! Enjoy your dinner.

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Dinner Party Talk – Pam Anderson Dances With the Stars

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

Bored with this season’s American Idle, I finally caught ABC’s Dancing with the Stars on Monday night. Why? Because I’m a sucker for the wiles of Pamela Anderson. She, like other vixens before and after her, was plastered on many a schoolboy closet door and in their dreams. Now, thanks to her delovely Aunt Vie Pam’s made the leap from lifeguarding to Tool Time to…DANCING WITH THE STARS!? That’s right, even though she’s never danced before, Pamela Anderson is now officially my front runner for winning this season’s Dancing With the Stars. She’s actually pretty great! Watch her cut a Cha-Cha with dance partner Damian Whitewood. So, you know Pam, my fingers got tired from dialing your number so many times.

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American Icons – Happy Birthday, Dollywood!

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

Dolly Parton‘s theme park wonderland, Dollywood, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! The gravity defying country music legend opened the park in 1985, and since then it’s become a bona fide national treasure. I’m a huge fan of Dolly Parton, but I’ve never been to Dollywood, and the anniversary excitement is all the reason I need to finally make my pilgrimage. See you there on those rolling thunder hills!

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Talented Kids – And I’m Telling You

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

Please welcome to the stage 6-year-old Kevin Curenton singing “And I’m Telling You” on Apollo’s “Star of Tomorrow.” He’s got talent, a dapper outfit, and a future. And I’m Telling YOU, there’s nothing like a talented kid.

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Spring Cleaning – Naturally

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

5 THINGS IN YOUR HOUSE you should be cleaning with*:
1) Lemons (a natural anti-bacterial/disinfectant, great to clean chopping blocks, also lemon juice during laundry rinse cycle brightens whites)
2) Vinegar (bathroom cleaner, including grout -let set, then use toothbrush)
3) Salt (swish around inside a dirty vase and using as scrub removes caked on gook from stove tops)
4) Baking Soda **(refrigerator odor absorber is also great for sprinkling in laundry, and for toilets-add a cup, let it sit for an hour, flush.***)

*according to my grandma
**my grandfather’s favorite denture cleaner
***Also, a teaspoon of baking soda in a vase makes cut flowers last longer, but I learned that from a gardener, not my grandma.

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Dinner Party Talk – Kelly Ripa’s friend

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield


At a birthday party over the weekend a TV addicted friend confessed that when friends told her they had named their newborn daughter “Lola,” she immediately squealed, “Oh, I love that name, another friend of mine named her daughter Lola and she’s gorgeous.” “Who?” they asked. She racked her brain, running through her mind’s Rolodex of “friends.” When it dawned on her that her “friend” is Kelly Ripa, whom she knows at 9 a.m. on ABC, she decided she’d watched enough TV for the week. “In my heart of hearts,” she later told me, “I thought it was one of my dear friends.” I’m reminded that my Aunt Jean’s greatest desire when I moved to New York was for me to kick Victor Newman of The Young and the Restless in the shin. “Break his leg!” she had insisted. “He’s a no-good bastard. He had an affair on my friend Nikki.” Enjoy your TV dinner!

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Happy Spring – Celebrate Life

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Bruce Littlefield

HAPPY SPRING! Just took a run, and was delighted by the renewal of life all over Central Park-from crocus and daffodils to pets and people. Tonight and each Sunday for the first weeks of spring, I’ll be watching “Life” on the Discovery Channel. The geniuses behind “Planet Earth” have created this 11 part series, which kicks off with “Challenges of Life,” an overview of the extraordinary strategies our planet’s animals and plants have developed to stay alive as individuals and as species. My DVR is set! If you need convincing, ask Oprah (who narrates) or click here to see a sneak peak.

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